Ross, Robert S. WHY OUR HARDLINERS ARE WRONG (The National Interest, no. 49, Fall 1997, pp. 42-51)

U.S. policy has "made important gains in affecting Chinese behavior over a wide range of issues bearing on important American interests," says Ross. Advocating continued U.S.-Chinese cooperation, he notes that "an adversarial relationship...will only become inevitable if one of the two sides insists on it. Given the consequences that would flow for all of East Asia, it would be disastrous if it were Americans who so insisted."

Cumings, Bruce. FEEDING THE NORTH KOREA MYTHS (The Nation, vol. 265, September 29, 1997, pp. 22-24)

Cumings says the news media's coverage of North Korea consistently fails to note the quiet resolution of many issues causing Washington-Pyongyang tension. For the first time, he notes, North Korea "wants Washington in -- with food aid, economic support, light-water reactors -- and not out, turning toward us to help it deal with a strong South Korea and the towering regional presence of Japan, with the USSR gone and China wavering."

Mahbubani, Kishore. AN ASIA-PACIFIC CONSENSUS (Foreign Affairs, vol. 76. no. 5, September/October 1997, pp. 149-158)

The author says Asia can achieve greater political stability and economic development only if key actors in the region agree on a consensus for the future. First, he says, the current geopolitical order should remain static. Second, all key players in the region must develop a common understanding of the region's constraints and realities, and finally leaders must realize that common elements of the region's diversity must be drawn out to truly foster a sense of community.

Stuart, Douglas. JAPAN'S PLACE IN THE NEW ASIAN CONCERT (Japan Quarterly, July-September 1997, pp. 60-65)

A new system of regional security in Asia must be developed to replace the outmoded "San Francisco system" under which the United States maintains some 100,000 troops in the area, Stuart maintains. One alternative, he says, is development of "a form of moderate multipolar balancing, in which the actions of the participating states are influenced by certain shared values." Stuart sees the need for close cooperation between Washington and Tokyo in bringing about the transformation, but he says that Japan will have to take the first step.

Browne, Peter. THE RICE STALKS ARE RIPENING (New Statesman, July 18, 1997, pp. 18-19)

The author says that after 30 years of growth, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) "is a much more self-confident grouping, which believes it offers an alternative approach -- not a blueprint, for the differences within ASEAN are significant, but a broad approach -- to economic and political development." Browne says he is optimistic about its future, stating that "ASEAN has shown during its third decade that it has the capacity to respond flexibly to the challenges of the post-Cold War world."

Marlay, Ross. CHINA, THE PHILIPPINES, AND THE SPRATLY ISLANDS (Asian Affairs: An American Review, vol. 23, no. 4, Winter 1997, pp. 195-208)

Marlay looks at the challenges that will face the International Court of Justice when settling claims to the Spratly Islands by China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. He expresses the hope that "China will perceive so strong a stake in a normal relationship with the rest of the world that it will moderate its behavior to avoid stoking fears and provoking economic sanctions....The world will watch with interest as this drama unfolds."

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The annotations above are part of a more comprehensive Article Alert offered on the home page of the U.S. Information Service.

Les objectifs de politique ・rang・e des ・ats-Unis
Revue ・ectronique de l'USIA, volume 3, num・o 1, janvier 1998